Bansal Wire Industries Q1 FY27 earnings call

What moved the numbers, as management explained it

• West Asia geopolitical tension disrupted natural gas supply; blended consumable cost rose ~₹5,000/tonne with gas cost increasing 1.5x on average during the quarter.
• Management absorbed the cost increase on 30-40 days of committed orders, dropping blended EBITDA/kg from ₹7 to ₹2 for the first 45 days of Q1 — a one-off timing impact, not a structural change.
• Volume grew ~8% YoY to 112,000 tonnes; market-share gains continued with the company growing at 20% versus industry at 7-8%.
• B2C segment scaled to ~10% of Q1 sales with 20-30% higher EBITDA/tonne than B2B low-carbon business, aiding mix.
• Margin recovered to ₹7-8/kg from May 15 as new orders booked at escalated prices; second half of Q1 ran at ₹7-8/kg blended.

The numbers management led with

• EBITDA/kg margin trajectory: INR 7-8/kg from May 15 onwards vs INR 2/kg in first 45 days of Q1; blended Q1 INR 4-4.5/kg
• Operating cash flow Q1: INR 121 crore in Q1 FY27
• FY27 capex: INR 200-250 crore for FY27; same run-rate per year going forward
• Combined CFO target FY27+FY28: ~INR 800 crore cumulative target (vs INR 600 crore earlier combined FY26+FY27 target)

Guidance on this call

What changed since the Thu 30 Apr 2026 call

Guided on earlier calls, and what was filed

Filed figures are summed from the company's own quarterly results for the whole period (EBITDA excludes other income); where one sits against what was guided is arithmetic, not a judgement.

By business

Balance sheet, capex and funding

• Operating cash flow of ~₹120-121 cr in Q1 FY27; full-year FY27 target of ₹350 cr.
• Annual capex guidance raised to ₹200-250 cr (from prior ₹150-200 cr) to support 20-25% growth.
• Working capital: trade payable financing initiated; inventory days and receivable days being reduced through customer renegotiation.
• More than 50% of equipment manufactured in-house, providing flexibility to time capacity additions within ~6 months.

The industry, as management sees it

Management sees the wire industry growing at 7-8% per annum, well below Bansal's targeted 20% — implying they expect to continue taking share. Demand has returned across most end-segments, with auto and exports showing particular strength; infra is seasonally softer in Q2-Q3 but expected to pick up. Industrial gas availability has eased since the early-Q1 disruption, though gas costs remain structurally elevated with no near-term decline visible.

Risks management named

• West Asia geopolitical tensions continue to keep industrial gas costs elevated (gas cost up ~1.5x)
• Steel Cord qualification is a multi-stage process; first trial order is just the start
• Q1 saw customer de-stocking and subdued demand across some end-markets
• Speciality capex (Steel Cord pilot) implies ~1x asset turn; ROCE accretion is back-end loaded
• Inventory 30-40 days creates timing mismatch on commodity pass-through

Not answered directly

• Other expense INR 26 crore split between fuel cost and speciality plant costs
• Absolute cost advantage from being largest advance-paying purchaser of wire rods

Asked for a number, answered without one

• Steel Cord trial order quantum and customer identity: Management declined to name the customer or quantify the trial order, stating it is a trial stage with no confirmed order book yet.
• Other expense split between fuel cost and new plant cost: Management declined a specific split; said gas cost increased ~1.5x on a blended basis but did not give absolute numbers for either component.

Every question, with its answer

1. 1. Q1 margin compression & guidance confidence

   Kunal Sharma, Veritas Research13:15

   Question. How would you rate Q1 results, and if the West Asia war continues for a few more quarters with elevated oil/gas prices, how will Bansal Wire be positioned on growth and margins? Will the issue persist or are you ready to deliver on the strong guidance?

   Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. Split Q1 into two parts. First 45 days saw consumable cost inflation of ~INR 5,000/tonne on a blended basis (mainly gas, packaging). Company consciously chose NOT to pass this on to customers on the 30-40 days of firm orders already booked. EBITDA/kg fell from INR 7 blended to INR 2/kg during that absorption window. New orders post-booking were at INR 8/kg blended, so second half ran at INR 7-8/kg. From May 15 onwards, fully back to INR 7-8/kg EBITDA levels. Demand has returned, market share is being gained, B2C is helping. Confident of achieving guidance for next three quarters.

   Follow-up. On the margin, do we run a cost-plus model? Is that the reason Q1 margins dropped to ~4%?

   Answer. Operate cost-plus: any raw material or consumable increase/decrease is passed on to customer. Carry 30-40 days of stock covered by 30-40 days of firm-rate orders as a natural hedge. In Q1, consumables spiked immediately, not gradually — so already-booked orders could not be repriced. New orders from 1 April onwards were booked at escalated prices and margins were maintained. Only temporary 30-40 day order book hit; rest of the quarter at regular margins.

2. 2. Margin trajectory

   Kunal Sharma, Veritas Research21:01

   Question. From next quarter, are we back to 7.5-8% margin?

   Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. From almost May 15, already back to INR 7-8/kg. Q1 blended was INR 4-4.5/kg because first 45 days were at INR 2/kg.

3. 3. Steel Cord qualification

   Kunal Sharma, Veritas Research21:21

   Question. On Steel Cord: does receiving the first trial order mean the customer has approved us and we start getting an order book?

   Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. Approval process has two stages — sample approval and then field trial/bulk trial. We have passed sample approval with most customers and are onto the second stage. One customer skipped the field trial and went directly to bulk trial — that is the trial order just received. Typically 4 trial stages of 2-3 months each, so could take 6-8 months in total. Cannot comment on customer name. Expect more trial orders from other customers this quarter.

   Follow-up. What's the timeline for the first confirmed order book?

   Answer. Will keep updated. Generally 2-3 months per trial stage; 3-4 trials could take 6-8 months. This is not the only customer — expecting more trial orders this quarter.

4. 4. CFO guidance upgrade

   Kunal Sharma, Veritas Research25:16

   Question. On CFO: guidance raised to ~INR 800 crore combined for FY27 and FY28 vs INR 600 crore earlier. What drove the acceleration?

   Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. INR 600 crore was combined FY26+FY27 guidance. FY26 target was INR 250 crore — delivered ~INR 330 crore. FY27 target was INR 350 crore — even with Q1 challenges, still INR 115 crore of cash flow delivered. Initiatives have paid off; confident of reaching the number. Need to target aggressively to achieve.

   Follow-up. Are we now back to ~75%+ utilisation since production started?

   Answer. Yes. Demand is back, operating at that level.

5. 5. Volume vs EBITDA growth math

   Aditya Bhartia, Investec Capital Services28:21

   Question. On 20% volume growth guidance — if EBITDA/kg goes from INR 6.5-7 last year to INR 7-8 this year, can we see 20% volume + 10% EBITDA/kg = 30% total EBITDA growth?

   Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. Looking at 20% volume growth. EBITDA guidance also at 20%. Started Q1 at a higher EBITDA base, but three quarters to go and INR 0.15 up/down swing in margins — want to be comfortable. At 20% volume growth, EBITDA would grow at least 20%. Anything upwards TBD.

6. 6. IHT/OHT profitability & capacity

   Aditya Bhartia, Investec Capital Services30:46

   Question. On IHT and OHT wires: what proportion of revenue/volume today, how large can OHT become, and profitability metrics?

   Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. IHT+OHT combined currently at 9,000 tonnes capacity, will reach 15,000 tonnes with OHT commissioning. IHT targeting 50% utilisation next month; 80% of customers already approved; remaining 20% in advanced stages. EBITDA not meaningful yet at 35-40% utilisation; at optimum utilisation, expect similar EBITDA to Steel Cord. IHT currently INR 10-20/kg EBITDA range.

7. 7. B2C targets & margins

   Aditya Bhartia, Investec Capital Services33:01

   Question. On B2C: ambition and targets? How does profitability compare with conventional B2B?

   Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. B2C is in low-carbon segment which is 50-55% of total volume. Ambition: 50%+ of low-carbon (i.e., 25% of total sales) from B2C. From 5%-10% in last year, doubled sales. Better margin than B2B low-carbon — 20-30% extra EBITDA/tonne.

8. 8. OHT margins

   Deeya Jain, Sapphire Capital35:59

   Question. What is the EBITDA/tonne for OHT wires?

   Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. OHT + IHT combined target INR 10-20/kg EBITDA. Early to say for OHT specifically but in that range. Will reach once at optimum utilisation (~70-80%), which will be within this year.

   Follow-up. So that's ~70-80% utilisation?

   Answer. Yes. Break-even at ~60% utilisation, decent margins at 70-80%.

9. 9. FY27 capex guidance

   Deeya Jain, Sapphire Capital36:41

   Question. What capex are we targeting this year?

   Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. Approach has changed in last year. Plan INR 200-250 crore capex every year to enable 20-25% volume growth. This year also INR 200-250 crore in total.

10. 10. Other expense breakdown

    Rahul Girish Shah, Glostar LLP37:16

    Question. Other expenses up INR 26 crore this quarter — split between extra fuel cost vs new speciality plant costs?

    Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. Cannot give specific split. On gas: cost has almost tripled in some plants, increased ~100% in others; blended gas cost up ~1.5x on average.

    Not answered directly.

11. 11. Speciality revenue ramp

    Rahul Girish Shah, Glostar LLP37:16

    Question. Will the new speciality plants (Steel Cord, B2C) book meaningful revenue in FY27?

    Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. B2C already 10% of revenue in Q1; growing every month (Q2 and Q3 seasonally soft, Q1 and Q4 better). IHT targeting 50% next month; 60-80% by year-end. OHT commissioning by year-end, more contribution in FY28. Steel Cord meaningful progress with first trial order but long process ahead.

12. 12. Volume growth conviction

    Jigar Jani, Nuvama PCG39:16

    Question. Volume guidance of 20% implies ~145,000 tonnes/quarter — that's ~85% utilisation. What's the conviction driver — new customers or new products?

    Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. 20% CAGR over last 20 years. Split into three: one third market share gain with regular customers, one third from existing customers growing, one third from new products. R&D develops 20-25 new SKUs monthly, target of 250 new products/year. Have historically maintained 85-90% utilisation as sweet spot. Started FY27 with 680,000 tonnes capacity plus 60,000 tonnes standby, plus Dadri Greenfield hiccups now resolved.

13. 13. Inventory & cost-plus pass-through

    Jigar Jani, Nuvama PCG42:01

    Question. On cost-plus model — if the geopolitical situation reverses, would we have to take an inventory hit on the 30-40 days stock?

    Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. 70-80% of inventory is booked against firm orders — price increase/decrease already passed on to customers, including any inventory loss. Only difference is opening vs closing stock prices between quarters — loss in one quarter offsets in next. Same for consumables. Principle has worked well through prior crises.

14. 14. Sectoral demand picture

    Vinil Shah, Dalal & Broacha48:16

    Question. Demand was slow from most sectors earlier, only auto was healthy — has the industry landscape improved across sectors now?

    Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. Demand across almost all sectors. Exports started doing well; auto still strong. B2C and speciality initiatives helping on both margin and quantity. Q2 and Q3 typically a little weaker in infra; overall still positive.

15. 15. One-time margin gain

    Vinil Shah, Dalal & Broacha49:01

    Question. Given consumable prices eased, could there be a one-time gain to offset the Q1 hit?

    Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. Possibility exists, depends on pace. Gradual move is fully passed to customer; sudden decrease could create a gain like the sudden increase created a hit.

    Partly answered.

16. 16. Speciality strategy & capacity

    Shubham Thorat, Perpetual Capital Advisors49:31

    Question. Rationale for entering speciality segments, margin differential vs conventional, capacity available?

    Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. Diversified across auto, consumer durables, power & cable, infra, general engineering, agri, poultry. No segment >25% of sales, no customer >3-4%. Speciality Wire added as natural extension; high-margin, high-barrier items mostly import-substitute. IHT/OHT used in auto including EVs; Steel Cord is first Indian entrant. Steel Cord pilot 20,000 tonnes; IHT 9,000; IHT+OHT combined 15,000 by year-end. Speciality total ~35,000 tonnes currently; eye on 2 lakh tonnes over next 4-5 years.

    Follow-up. What is the current status on gas — still elevated?

    Answer. Even today gas prices escalated; no decrease seen. All cost escalation has been passed on to customers via new orders. Operating at regular EBITDA with elevated costs.

17. 17. Market share strategy

    Yog Rajani, Omega Portfolio Advisors53:26

    Question. Margins dipped in Q1 — how are we taking advantage of weaker competitors facing tougher conditions?

    Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. By grabbing market share. Industry growing 7-8%, Bansal growing 20% historically. In Q1 specifically, Bansal was one of very few companies that absorbed the cost hit rather than renegotiate with customers — reflects 85-year customer relationships. Capacity is in place; now focus on utilisation.

18. 18. Working capital sustainability

    Yog Rajani, Omega Portfolio Advisors53:26

    Question. Trade payables improvement via payable financing is just substituting one liability with another — are there structural working capital improvements?

    Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. One of several initiatives. Inventory days also reducing as base grows. Receivables also actively renegotiated; overdues cut significantly. Expect structural change in receivable pattern over next 1-2 years.

    Follow-up. Why can't we get payable days from suppliers given scale? Why rely on payable financing?

    Answer. Do not want to negotiate payable days with suppliers — paying advance gives strong leverage in the market as the largest purchaser of wire rods. That advantage is worth preserving.

19. 19. Supplier cost advantage

    Yog Rajani, Omega Portfolio Advisors1:00:46

    Question. Must be some cost advantages from being the largest payer-upfront — any comments?

    Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. Should give good pricing, but cannot give absolute number. Has helped capture market share while growing profitability.

    Not answered directly.

20. 20. Speciality ROCE math

    Jay Patel, Patel Equity1:00:46

    Question. On Speciality ROCE: 2 lakh tonne Steel Cord requires ~INR 2,000 crore capex, peak revenue INR 2,000-2,500 crore — that's 1x asset turn, 16% EBITDA margin gives 16% ROCE. Even without Speciality, company is at 16% ROCE — so Speciality doesn't add ROCE?

    Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. On 2 lakh tonnes, expect INR 600-800 crore EBITDA on INR 2,000-2,500 crore investment — what is stable is per-tonne EBITDA and quantity, not revenue %. Currently targeting 25% ROCE in current business via B2C, low-carbon growth and cost initiatives. Cash flows have allowed capital base reduction in Q1. 25% ROCE target applies to current business too, with or without Speciality.

    Follow-up. Can we compete globally with Jiangsu Xingda in Speciality? Earlier you said domestic advantage — could we compete globally in 3-4 years?

    Answer. Right — export not a lucrative business because raw material in India is INR 10-15/kg more expensive than China. That is 50% of margin. On equal raw material cost, can compete with any Chinese manufacturer. Target market is India — large enough. At 2 lakh tonnes, even 45-50% share replaces 60-65% import market.

21. 21. Capex deployment strategy

    Jay Patel, Patel Equity

    Question. Future capex strategy: any utilisation threshold before committing fresh capex, given infra slowdown risk?

    Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. More than 50% of equipment manufactured in-house — gives flexibility to deploy capex within 6 months vs 1-1.5 years. Strategy: start each year with 20-25% excess capacity to enable 20-25% growth. FY27 started with 680,000 tonnes (25% buffer). Capex set at INR 200-250 crore/year; only Speciality segment breaks this pattern.

22. 22. Vendor & channel financing

    Aditya Bhartia, Investec Capital Services1:05:46

    Question. Vendor financing roadmap — how far to take it? Scope to reduce receivables sharply via channel financing as B2C scales?

    Answer, Pranav Bansal, Managing Director & CEO. Channel financing already started with many customers; renegotiations ongoing to bring receivables down while preserving market share. Receivables reduction a major contributor to CFO this year and next. Also scope to increase payable days to substitute inventory carrying days.

23. 23. Sanand land accounting

    Anil Shah, Dalal & Broacha1:07:41

    Question. In an earlier call you mentioned selling balance land at the Sanand facility, but it's not shown as 'asset held for sale' — clarification?

    Answer, Ghanshyam Das Gujrati, Chief Financial Officer. Sanand facility will not be disposed; will continue as additional land available for further expansion. Expansion ongoing there.

    Follow-up. I recall Pranav mentioning Sanand land would be sold because the backward integration project was deferred — there is some confusion.

    Answer. Correction — not selling the entire facility. Already expanded at Sanand with wire capex ~90,000 tonnes; have excess land, will take a call — may sell some part, not all, because expansion is already underway.

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In their words